While the people from Hare's House and Victoria Housekeeping Co. were searching the warehouse for supply boxes...
At that same time...
On the other side of the C41 Hollow, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and Seth were patrolling in a Public Security Bureau vehicle, scanning the area.
They had entered the Hollow just over half an hour ago.
This time, their mission wasn't to stop others from entering—it was to capture a gang of raiders the bureau had been tracking for a while.
But this wasn't just any group of raiders.
They were violent criminals, guilty of looting, arson, and murder—multiple homicides, in fact.
Today, the Public Security Bureau had finally pinpointed their location.
Right here in the C41 Hollow.
Zhu Yuan knew this might be their best chance to make the arrest. If these thugs escaped, next time they'd have to chase them all the way to the outer ring.
Inside the patrol car, Seth was reading a message from headquarters on his phone.
"Captain Zhu Yuan, the chief finally sent over intel on the suspects. It's pretty detailed… Says the group has four to six people, driving a truck. They entered the Hollow looking for supply boxes. If we want to catch them, we'll have to find the warehouses they're targeting."
He read the information aloud.
Zhu Yuan frowned slightly. "Seth, do we have a map of C41?"
Seth shook his head. "C41's been lost for years. All official maps were destroyed. But the chief is looking for one through... other channels. Should be sent over soon."
If it wasn't in the bureau's database, those "channels" likely meant the black market—or someone like a Webrigger from the Proxy Network.
Either way, it wouldn't be anything they could publicize.
Sure enough, just as Seth said, within minutes the Janus District Chief sent over a map of the C41 Hollow as a file.
When Seth opened it, he spotted a strange symbol near the map's edge. It looked familiar, but he couldn't place it.
Qingyi glanced over and sighed. "Don't waste time guessing. That's Phaethon's mark."
Seth blinked. "Wait, didn't they arrest Phaethon over two months ago? I heard the trial's done and he's rotting in prison."
Qingyi smirked. "That was a fake. The real Phaethon wouldn't get caught so easily."
There wasn't time to discuss it further.
Qingyi took the map and, with a single glance, locked onto a warehouse location. It wasn't far—only about ten minutes from where they were. Maybe the gang would be there too.
She passed the location to Zhu Yuan.
As Zhu Yuan began driving, she asked, "Seth, do we have the truck's license plate number?"
With C41 in decline, all sorts of raiders and agents had come looking for treasure. Vehicles from other factions were bound to be around.
If they chased the wrong one, it'd waste time and alert their real targets.
Seth quickly pulled up the message. "Let me check... Yep—found it. License plate reads TBXXXX..."
Qingyi yawned. "No traffic laws in the Hollow. Captain, let's go faster."
Zhu Yuan nodded. "Got it, Qingyi-senpai."
And with that, she hit the gas and sped up.
...
At that same moment, outside the warehouse.
The Hare's House SUV, Victoria Housekeeping Co.'s car, and a truck Hare's House had picked up were all parked there...
And that truck's plate matched the one Zhu Yuan was hunting for exactly.
Clearly, the raiders who had been killed by a Notoriety-class Ethereal were the ones Zhu Yuan had been after.
Suddenly, noises came from inside the warehouse.
Moments later, Nicole, Billy, Nekomata, Arataki Itto, and the others came out cheerfully, each carrying a supply box.
"Hahahaha! As expected of Nicole! There were only a few boxes in there, and she grabbed them all!"
"Of course! Like the saying goes—hesitation is defeat. Only a fool hesitates at a warehouse door!"
Earlier, Nicole had gotten inside first and quickly found the boxes. Then she called in Billy and Arataki Itto—both strong—to carry them.
After they loaded the boxes onto the truck, the Victoria Housekeeping team also came out—empty-handed, except for Venti.
He wasn't holding a supply box either, just an old-looking harp.
Ellen scowled. "Boss, they were too sneaky. If we'd gone in together, we'd be the ones with those boxes."
Lycaon remained calm. "Ellen, remember—survivors in the Hollows are always the most cunning."
That included herself.
In the Hollow, you didn't just face powerful Ethereals. There were also raiders, agents, Security, even the Hollow Investigation Association. Anyone could be a threat.
She glanced at the truck and was surprised to see over twenty supply boxes loaded up.
She hadn't expected Hare's House to have collected that much already.
After a moment of hesitation, Lycaon returned to her vehicle. "Let's move on to the next warehouse."
Ellen threw a side glance at Nicole. "Hopefully we don't run into any more cunning hares next time..."
Then she looked at Sam Li. "If only he'd join the housekeeping company."
Venti chuckled. "Eh? Zhongli—oh, right, he goes by Sam Li now. Is he really that sought-after?"
Ellen nodded. "Of course. He's incredibly strong. Took down a high-level Ethereal effortlessly."
That kind of strength was rare—almost unheard of in all of New Eridu.
After a pause, Ellen added, "Once you see him fight, you'll want to team up with him too."
Venti didn't argue.
Instead, he nodded in full agreement.
"You're right. He's always been amazing. If he had been in Mondstadt back then… those things wouldn't have happened."